Jaime Ortiz-Patino (center, holding the Ryder Cup), played a significant role in getting the Ryder Cup to Spain in 1997.

Jaime Ortiz-Patino, the man who created Valderrama in Spain which hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup, passed away this morning at the age of 82.

According to the Reuters report:

Born to Bolivian parents in Paris in June 1930, Ortiz-Patino created the Valderrama course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, in the mid 1980s and was able to lure the Ryder Cup there in 1997, the first time the competition had been held outside the British Isles.

The course was the home of the Volvo Masters between 1988 and 1996 and from 2002 to 2008 and has also hosted the Amex World Championships and the Andalucia Masters.

Known as "Jimmy" to his friends, Ortiz-Patino, whose grandfather was a fabulously wealthy Bolivian tin magnate, amassed a collection of golfing memorabilia that captured the history of the game over 500 years.